MIRACLES IN JUAREZ, MEXICO: RESULTS AT FESTIVAL OF HOPE AND SAN LORENZO

Greetings to all!!! I have gotten behind on sharing about Life In Juarez....and I have some catching up to do.

We met for weeks planning the Festival of Hope.

The City of Juarez, Mexico is still slowly climbing out the hole that it fell into some 6 to 7 years ago when it received the title of the Most Dangerous City In The World. It has been a real slow process but most things are heading in the right direction. The mayor that came into office last year, Enrique Serrano, has been good for the City of Juarez. He has opened up a special office in City Hall for the handling of religious affairs and Edilberto Royval Sosa, the Christian brother who heads up that office, has done much to help the churches. The Mayor has taken a strong and serious stand against corruption, amongst many of his new agendas. I have also seen both the State and City governments realize that they need the help of the Christian Churches in order to improve the quality of life for its citizens.

The havoc created by all the problems that the City of Juarez has faced may be compared to the destruction seen recently by the tornadoes that hit Arkansas and other States. There has been much suffering and clean-up will take a very long time. The emotional trauma will be the most difficult to deal with. And as with every disaster it will be a time for the Kingdom of God to shine forth His glory.

Woman moved by a blanket given to me by a church in Oklahoma

Some weeks ago, after months of planning, we finally had The Festival of Hope, which had to be cancelled last November. The event was a great example of the City helping the Churches and the Churches helping the City for the benefit of the masses. Simultaneously, across the border the City of El Paso, which is the safest City in America, was hosting a Festival of Hope with Franklin Graham, which also took months of preparation. The fact that both events were called "Festival of Hope" and the date fell on the same day were purely "coincidental". For the Festival of Hope in Juarez the City and State governments provided many free services to the 2,500 families that arrived on that day. The governments provided many medical services, including eye exams (which I donated reading glasses for them to give out), medicine, vehicle registry, job opportunities, vaccines, scholarships, haircuts, mammography, legal aid, discounts for past due utility bills, and games. The Churches provided different types of ministry including worship music for the 8 hours that the event was held. We also had professional Christian wrestlers put on a performance followed by the sharing God's word by the wrestlers themselves. This was a very popular event.

Feeding families. Rice provided to me by SAEM.

Medical exams at Festival of hope

I arrived two hours before opening of the gates to the Festival of Hope and found about 200 people already waiting in line. I was blessed to have been involved in a very special aspect of the event. I worked with the prayer team. The way we worked it was that on the way out every family would receive a very generous amount of food. But in order to get to the food and the exit the people would first have to cross through the Prayer Tent. At one time the lines coming through the Prayer Tent were blocks long. So we decided that we would bring about 25-30 people under the tent at one time, give them a two-minute gospel message, have prayer with them, and send them on their way to pick up their food before exiting. The plan worked great. The crowds were very patient. Not one person complained. The Holy Spirit touched lives and many thousands of seeds were sown into His kingdom. I called it the "Gospel Express". It was a great day. In the meantime the 2-day Franklin Graham Festival of Hope in El Paso brought in almost 1,000 souls into the Kingdom.

Lucas and I enjoying a wonderful time with Pastor Manuel.

I spoke of the City of San Lorenzo at the last blog entry. Two weekends ago we marched into that City to bring the gospel message. Although we faced many obstacles and in spite of some planning errors I believe that the gospel message was shared with the people and that soon San Lorenzo will have its first Christian Church. I asked for assistance from friends to purchase some bikes and soccer balls to attract a good crowd. I purchased 6 brand new bikes, 6 soccer balls, and also handed out reading glasses free of charge. I believe that it was the raffling of these items that brought out the children and adults to this outreach. I don't know exactly how many people came to the Lord over that weekend but I know that there were many, plus many seeds of love and hope were sown into many hearts. I was thrilled to have Lucas Anderson from Arkansas join me for this event. Thanks to Lucas for his sacrifice and the blessing of having him in Juarez and San Lorenzo.

FESTIVAL OF HOPE

Our four-men team continues to have monthly campaigns in Juarez or wherever we are invited to. Our most recent campaign did not see large crowds but the Lord moved in a mighty way and we saw many saved and healed. I was also blessed to have met two very unique families with very special needs. I still continue to visit these families and help them in any way that I can.

On a sad note I recently visited Pastor Corina Torres at Colonia Granjas Del Desierto. Back when we made many mission trips to Juarez our Arkansas team always visited the ministry that her husband Pastor Rafael started. Pastor Rafael was killed six months ago by a vehicle as he changed a flat tire. His widow was finally forced to shut down the children's feeding center that Pastor Rafael and her operated because she could not raise the funds needed to keep the center running. A newspaper article announcing the closure of the feeding center that she pasted on the lunchroom wall is a sad testimony of what happens when aid to this city stops flowing because of the fears of coming here.

Waiting on eye exams.

Michaela Lorton, from The River Church in Judsonia, Arkansas, arrived smiling in El Paso yesterday. She will be joining Spanish American Evangelistic Ministries (S.A.E.M.) for a month as an intern. The team from Arkansas and Michaela's family will arrive here in one month for a one week adventure in ministry to Juarez. Once that week is over Michaela will ride back home with her family. If anyone is interested in joining the Arkansas Dream Team from June 7-14 there is still room available.

Food give-a-way.

Here are a couple of side notes on S.A.E.M. : SAEM is a gospel tract printing ministry. Most of the tracts printed by SAEM are for Spanish speaking Nations. SAEM is in need of an experienced printing press operator to come to SAEM a few times a year. The position will be ideal for a retired Christian individual or couple. SAEM is also having a tree drive to enhance the landscape of its four acre campus. This will make an ideal memorial gift for a loved one. Anyone interested in donating funds for the Tree Drive or the printing press position may contact me for more information.

Prayer Tent.

Prayer Tent at Festival of Hope

The trip to Mindanao, Philippines that I have mentioned in past blog entries is still up in the air. I will need $3,000 to be able to make the trip. If the Lord makes it possible it will be great, and if not, there's plenty of work to be done in Juarez.

SIX BIKES FOR SAN LORENZO

As usual I can't give enough thanks to all who pray for me and help support the Lord's work in Juarez, Mexico. Summer is around the corner. The usual 105°+ temperatures everyday becomes a challenge. But I am blessed to have a nice vehicle with air conditioning this summer. Please pray for the Arkansas Dream Team as they prepare to be here next month. They will be staying in Juarez during the week to avoid daily crossings to El Paso.